Elvis Presley stepped into motion picture history in “Jailhouse Rock,” a film designed for his talents, musical and otherwise. It was the the first rock-and-roll movie and the first rock-and-roll musical. It featured seven songs, including the title number, written by Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber. The soundtrack was the best selling EP album of the year on the Billboard charts.
Presley portrays a convict who learns to play the guitar while in prison and goes on to be a big star after his release. Guy Trosper wrote the screenplay from Nedrick Young’s story. Director Richard Thorpe (“On an Island with You” 1948) commissioned choreographer Alex Romero to create the classic dance sequence to the song “Jailhouse Rock,” which many consider to be Elvis’ greatest movie scene ever, popularizing his moving of the hips in dance numbers. It is also considered to be a prototype of modern music videos.
Co-stars include Judy Tyler, Mickey Shaughnessy, Vaughn Taylor, Jennifer Holden, Dean Jones, and William Forrest as the head of the studio. This was Tyler’s last film, as she died in a car crash two weeks after filming was completed. “Jailhouse Rock” was a huge sensation at the box office for producer Pandro S. Berman, Avon Productions, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Jailhouse Rock (1957)
cinema
My Review
Elvis Presley stepped into motion picture history in “Jailhouse Rock,” a film designed for his talents, musical and otherwise. It was the the first rock-and-roll movie and the first rock-and-roll musical. It featured seven songs, including the title number, written by Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber. The soundtrack was the best selling EP album of the year on the Billboard charts.
Presley portrays a convict who learns to play the guitar while in prison and goes on to be a big star after his release. Guy Trosper wrote the screenplay from Nedrick Young’s story. Director Richard Thorpe (“On an Island with You” 1948) commissioned choreographer Alex Romero to create the classic dance sequence to the song “Jailhouse Rock,” which many consider to be Elvis’ greatest movie scene ever, popularizing his moving of the hips in dance numbers. It is also considered to be a prototype of modern music videos.
Co-stars include Judy Tyler, Mickey Shaughnessy, Vaughn Taylor, Jennifer Holden, Dean Jones, and William Forrest as the head of the studio. This was Tyler’s last film, as she died in a car crash two weeks after filming was completed. “Jailhouse Rock” was a huge sensation at the box office for producer Pandro S. Berman, Avon Productions, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.